Please join this session, as Maribel Blasco will present about the permaculture garden at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). Maribel is associate professor at the Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC), at Copenhagen Business School as well as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

Abstract 

The presentation will describe how CBS Permahaven was ideated, established and is developing as a ‘living laboratory’ for experimenting with regenerative approaches to teaching and research about sustainability, using the permaculture design framework as an ethical compass to guide throughout. Maribel will address the key difference between the ‘tangible’ and the ‘intangible’ garden which was coined to capture the practical aspects of creating a garden in a knowledge organization, as well as the thought frameworks underpinning it and the many learning activities that have sprung from it. She will also touch on how ecological, social/community, and logistical considerations shaped how the project has developed, and how these have evolved through dialogue with stakeholders.

During the session, we will explore tensions that can arise between top-down and bottom-up dynamics, as well as between institutional silos, covering issues such as territoriality, aesthetics, rhythms, gatekeepers, and competing narratives. But most importantly also the many enabling factors, collaborations, resources and energy that often came from unexpected sources and which helped Permahaven to become what it is.

Finally, the presentation reflects on key lessons learned throughout the process, notably an insistence on constructive dialogue, adaptive decision-making, stakeholder engagement, and the importance of translating visionary concepts into ‘languages’ that are intelligible to diverse stakeholders. The session aims to provide a grounded account that may inform similar initiatives seeking to navigate the complex terrain between ecological ambitions and complex institutional realities.